(Washington, D.C.) -- In the latest of a series of grant announcements this summer, the Corporation for National and Community Service today announced AmeriCorps grants totaling $10.8 million to support approximately 5,000 AmeriCorps members who will work with local nonprofit organizations to tutor and mentor at-risk youth, feed the homeless, respond to disasters, care for seniors and the disabled, and mobilize volunteers to meet other vital community needs.

The 18 approved organizations include large national groups such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Catholic Network of Volunteer Service as well as smaller organizations such as the Rural Alaska Community Action Program. In addition to the $10.8 million in grants announced, the Corporation will also provide education awards for AmeriCorps members serving in these programs who successfully complete their terms of service.

Today’s grants fall into two categories – AmeriCorps National Direct Continuations and the AmeriCorps Education Award Program. An earlier round of Education Award Program grants and National Direct grants for new and recompeting programs were approved on July 11. The 5,000 positions announced today represent a small share of the overall number of AmeriCorps positions this year. The Corporation expects to support approximately 50,000 members in 2003, consisting of 30,000 new positions in addition to the approximately 20,000 positions being filled this year that were approved last year.

“We are working very hard to maximize AmeriCorps enrollment while at the same time strengthening the management of this vital program to provide valuable service to communities across the country for many years to come,” said Rosie K. Mauk, Director of AmeriCorps. “AmeriCorps does tremendous good in our country. The outpouring of support for AmeriCorps is a testament to the value of this program to the communities it serves and the Americans who want to serve their country.”

The grants are the result of a process that began last October when AmeriCorps issued its 2003 grant guidelines. That guidance, while maintaining AmeriCorps’ longstanding focus on high quality programs that meet local needs, put new emphasis in several areas including increasing volunteer mobilization, building partnerships with community or faith-based organizations, and achieving sustainability. Competition was particularly stiff this year as strong applications greatly outnumbered available funds.

The grants announced today are in the following two categories:

AmeriCorps National Direct Continuation Grants

• Ten grants totaling $9,964,800 in program funding will support approximately 1,293 AmeriCorps members (779 full-time equivalents). To see the full list of National Direct grants, click here.
• Grants are made directly to organizations operating in multiple states that are continuing in the second or third year of their AmeriCorps grant.
   
• The organizations approved for these awards are the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Detroit, Mich.; Arc of Spokane, Wash.; Citizen Schools, Inc., Boston, Mass.; Civic Ventures, San Francisco, Calif.; Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, USA, New York, N.Y.; National Association of Community Health Centers, Bethesda, Md.; Northeast University Athletes in Service, Boston, Mass.; the Council of Great City Schools, Washington, D.C.; and the University of Maryland Center on Aging, College Park, Md.
   
• This is the second round of National Direct grants. Information on the first round, which was for new and recompeting programs, is at http://www.americorps.org/news/pr/071103.html.

AmeriCorps Education Award Program Grants

• Eight grants totaling $825,600 will support approximately 3,715 AmeriCorps members (2,064 full-time equivalents.) To see the full list of Education Award grants, click here.
   
• The Education Award Program supports partnerships with national, state and local nonprofit organizations. The organizations become part of the AmeriCorps network and receive minimal administrative support while their participants become AmeriCorps members and earn education awards upon completion of their service.
   
• The organizations approved for the awards are the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Atlanta, Ga.; Catholic Network of Volunteer Service, Takoma Park, Md.; National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, Washington, D.C.; Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas; Alaska State Community Service Commission, Anchorage, Alaska; Teach for America-Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.; Lincoln Action Program, Inc., Lincoln, Neb.; Cornell University REACH (Raising Education Attainment Challenge) Fellowship Program, Ithaca, N.Y.
   
• This is the second round of AmeriCorps Education Award Program grants. Information on the first round, announced on July 11, is at http://www.americorps.org/news/pr/071103.html.

AmeriCorps members serve full- or part-time with more than 2,500 national and local organizations. Full-time members who complete their service earn an education award of $4,725 to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back student loans. Members who serve part-time receive a partial education award. In addition to the AmeriCorps State and National grant programs, AmeriCorps also includes AmeriCorps*NCCC, a 10-month, full-time residential program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 who carry out projects in public safety, public health, and disaster relief, and AmeriCorps*VISTA, whose members help bring individuals and communities out of poverty by serving full-time to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities, or bridge the digital divide.

AmeriCorps is a national service program administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. Together, the programs of the Corporation engage more than two million Americans each year in meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. The Corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.org.

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